John Waterman is another person that shares some of the same characteristics as Chris McCandles (Alex Supertramp). Waterman had a promising and a well known climbing career; Chris McCandles also had a promising future. Both of them attended college too. Waterman attended the University of Alaska of Fairbanks. Furthermore, Chris and John had their own family problems. Chris’s problems were with both of his parents, especially his dad, and John really had problems with his father. John’s parents got divorced when he was a teen. John and his brother went to live with their uncle. One time, John found out his dad was coming up near them to climb. Due to the divorce, john’s father, Guy Waterman, completely stopped communicating with his children. This traumatically affected John. After John reached the summit of Hunter, he decided to stay up away from civilization for 145 days. He came back down from the mountain broke and had to get a job like a dishwasher. Chris also had to get hardworking and low paying jobs as he roamed the country, especially when Chris worked for Wayne in Carthage. Some people thought Waterman was mentally ill, and people had a hard time understanding him. A lot of people had a hard time understanding McCandles too. At the end of Waterman’s life, he went to scale Denali. He was very unprepared for his journey. McCandles was also unprepared for his last journey. Waterman never returned and is dead.
Another type of McCandles type is Gene Rosellini. Rosellini came from a good and well known family. His step father was a wealthy Seattle restaurateur, and his cousin, Albert Rosellini, was Governor of Washington. Rosellini was also a fabulous student. He had a perfect 4.0 in high school and college. Also, Rosellini was a good athlete. McCandles was all of these things too. Furthermore, Rosellini read a lot; Chris McCandles read a lot too. Rosellini decided that he wanted to live without technology and society, so he started to live off the land. Unlike Chris, Rosellini realized that he couldn’t live off the land like pre historic humans could. He decided to come back, but he was found dead with a knife through his chest before he returned. People believe he committed suicide.
Carl McCunn’s story has some similarities to Chris McCandles’s story. Carl and Chris both went to Alaska. Chris went there to live off the land, and Carl went there to take pictures. Carl was a photographer. Both of them went into Alaska unprepared. McCunn also never told his pilot when he wanted to be picked up, so it was implied that he wanted to stay there for a while and live off the land too like Chris. Moreover, some of Carl’s friends said he sometimes winged things. He wouldn’t think things through and just do them. This led to his downfall. Chris McCandles also didn’t think things through, so it led to his death also.
Probably the most similar to Chris McCandles and his story is the story of Everett Ruess. Reuss was raised by Christopher and Stella Ruess. Both of his parents were artsy people and were well off. At the age of sixteen, Everett set off on his first hitchhiking trip and trekking though Yosemite and Big Sur, eventually ending up in Carmel. He came back home, so he could at least get his high school diploma and went back on the road. He spent the rest of his life backpacking through the canyon lands of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Everett would have dreams plodding through jungles, hanging on the ledges of cliffs, and wandering through waste places of the world. Everett actually followed his dreams, but he followed his dreams for years. Everett Ruess put a lot of physical pain on his body by wandering through the desert and moving along cliffs, but his spirit always lead him through the pain. He took many risks by taking dangerous Native American trails that many people warned him about. Ruess also sent letters to his family and friends. Some of these letters insulted and ranted bout the stereotypes of civilization and expressing his opinion. Some of the letters also stated that he was becoming more and more engulfed by the beauty of the country. He wrote that he will always be a wanderer, and he will eventually find the wildest, loneliest, and most desolate spot there is on his journey. Additionally, he wrote that he has friends, but none of them truly understand him. In one of this letters, he said he was unsatisfied with life, and he wanted to live more intensely and richly. Furthermore, like Chris McCandles, Ruess took on many new names. He would call himself Lan Rameau, Evert Rubun, and nemo, which means “nobody” in Latin. His dad said that Everett probably called himself Nemo from the book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Wherever Everett Ruess would stay, he may have left his noma de plume on a wall or somewhere nearby. For example, one of his noma de plume was “Nemo 1934”. In the end, Chris McCandles and Everett Ruess both followed their dreams, which many people don’t do.
Another type of McCandles type is Gene Rosellini. Rosellini came from a good and well known family. His step father was a wealthy Seattle restaurateur, and his cousin, Albert Rosellini, was Governor of Washington. Rosellini was also a fabulous student. He had a perfect 4.0 in high school and college. Also, Rosellini was a good athlete. McCandles was all of these things too. Furthermore, Rosellini read a lot; Chris McCandles read a lot too. Rosellini decided that he wanted to live without technology and society, so he started to live off the land. Unlike Chris, Rosellini realized that he couldn’t live off the land like pre historic humans could. He decided to come back, but he was found dead with a knife through his chest before he returned. People believe he committed suicide.
Carl McCunn’s story has some similarities to Chris McCandles’s story. Carl and Chris both went to Alaska. Chris went there to live off the land, and Carl went there to take pictures. Carl was a photographer. Both of them went into Alaska unprepared. McCunn also never told his pilot when he wanted to be picked up, so it was implied that he wanted to stay there for a while and live off the land too like Chris. Moreover, some of Carl’s friends said he sometimes winged things. He wouldn’t think things through and just do them. This led to his downfall. Chris McCandles also didn’t think things through, so it led to his death also.
Probably the most similar to Chris McCandles and his story is the story of Everett Ruess. Reuss was raised by Christopher and Stella Ruess. Both of his parents were artsy people and were well off. At the age of sixteen, Everett set off on his first hitchhiking trip and trekking though Yosemite and Big Sur, eventually ending up in Carmel. He came back home, so he could at least get his high school diploma and went back on the road. He spent the rest of his life backpacking through the canyon lands of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Everett would have dreams plodding through jungles, hanging on the ledges of cliffs, and wandering through waste places of the world. Everett actually followed his dreams, but he followed his dreams for years. Everett Ruess put a lot of physical pain on his body by wandering through the desert and moving along cliffs, but his spirit always lead him through the pain. He took many risks by taking dangerous Native American trails that many people warned him about. Ruess also sent letters to his family and friends. Some of these letters insulted and ranted bout the stereotypes of civilization and expressing his opinion. Some of the letters also stated that he was becoming more and more engulfed by the beauty of the country. He wrote that he will always be a wanderer, and he will eventually find the wildest, loneliest, and most desolate spot there is on his journey. Additionally, he wrote that he has friends, but none of them truly understand him. In one of this letters, he said he was unsatisfied with life, and he wanted to live more intensely and richly. Furthermore, like Chris McCandles, Ruess took on many new names. He would call himself Lan Rameau, Evert Rubun, and nemo, which means “nobody” in Latin. His dad said that Everett probably called himself Nemo from the book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Wherever Everett Ruess would stay, he may have left his noma de plume on a wall or somewhere nearby. For example, one of his noma de plume was “Nemo 1934”. In the end, Chris McCandles and Everett Ruess both followed their dreams, which many people don’t do.